Tom Cruise's wife Katie Holmes narrowly escaped serious injury on the Melbourne set of her new film when a car burst into flames just seconds after she got out of it.

The 30-year-old was left "shaken", says a source - and took the remainder of the day off while the special effects team investigated what went wrong. The car battery apparently began erupting sparks and fumes and then caught fire during filming of horror flick Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark.

"Katie has filmed scenes since but it has made her think about her safety on set. She's obviously very nervous," a crew member reveals.

Katie arrived in Melbourne earlier this month with her husband and daughter Suri to work on the film, which also stars Guy Pearce and nine-year-old actress Bailee Madison.

Written by Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro, it tells the tale of a young girl who is sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend. She finds strange creatures in her new home who want to claim the youngster as one of their own.